Girl with a Warrior's Heart
by TheLittleBretonGirl
Summary: Shay is a Breton girl who just wants to fit in with the Nords of Skyrim. Though she is small she has the heart of a warrior and with Vilkas and the Companions help, she may be able to find her place.
1. Kodlak

Kodlak

Aela and Tovar stood outside Jorrvaskr with dead Silver- Hand at their feet. The huntress looked furious and for once Tovar looked sober. "What's happened here?" Shay exclaimed as she met Aela at the top of the steps that led to the mead hall. Tovar shook his head and mumbled something under his breath that was inaudible from where Shay stood. The huntress did not answer her. She seemed to be phased into some sort of trance when she saw the Breton girl run to her. "Aela! What's happened?" She did not look at Shay when she spoke, "first Skjor… now this."

Shay abandoned her efforts with Aela and ran for Jorrvaskr. She feared the worst. In her mind she saw all of her companions laying slaughtered on the floor. Vilkas, Farkas, Njada, Athis, Ria, Kodlak, all dead. What she came to find was only part true. Vilkas met her as she entered the doors. His shoulder was bleeding, the source a large gash that was too deep for her liking. "Vilkas… what…" The Nord shook his head. The face that was normally calm and collected was now filled with sorrow and fear. "The old man, Kodlak… He's dead." Shay felt like she was going to feint. She stumbled down the stairs and Vilkas caught her, groaning when Shay put her weight on his injured shoulder. "Easy there little Breton."

Vilkas held Shay tightly as she scanned the room. She saw Farkas and Njada sitting next to the Harbinger's body with their heads down in respect. Ria and Athis were at the opposite end of the mead hall, Athis on the ground and Fria comforting him as he wept. Tears saturated her eyes and blurred her vision when she looked at Kodlak's body. She felt her knees buckle under her and Vilkas let her slowly fall to the ground with his arms still around her. "He's with Hircine now…" He whispered to her. Over and over again he whispered this, his voice getting raspier each time as tears overtook him. He did not want to believe it himself. "No… that's not what he wanted!" Shay whispered, "He wanted to be free…"

Shay could not find sleep that night. After hours of tossing and turning she finally gave up her fight, knowing that she would not be sleeping at all. As she crept out of her room a dark shape from the corner of her eye stopped her cold in her tracks. It was Vilkas. He sat at the table just outside of Kodlak's room staring blankly at the wall. "Vilkas?" Shay whispered. The Nord did not answer her. She said his name a little louder, trying not to wake anyone else. "I cannot sleep." He finally said, still staring at nothing. Shay sighed, "me neither."

"Every time I close my eyes I see him. Dead. I failed him…" Shay shook her head. She knew what Vilkas was feeling. She knew that he felt fully responsible for what had happened. So did she.

A candle was lit and Shay took a seat across from Vilkas. In the light Shay could see that Vilkas had not taken care of his wound. Though it had stopped bleeding, his shoulder was still crusted with blood and the wound looked painful. "Can I help?" Shay asked leaning in to take a closer look. Vilkas shook his head. "No… The pain in my shoulder helps me forget for a time."

"It's going to get infected. Please, let me help." The Nord gave in and Shay took him to the wash room. It was a struggle for Vilkas to get his armor off. The pain was almost too much. Shay grabbed a rag and soaked it in water. Vilkas winced when she touched the damp rag to his shoulder. His blood was caked on thick and she was surprised he did not bleed out. If he was human he probably would have. Vilkas watched the Breton girl as she cleaned his wound. The candle light cast a shadow over face, hiding her eyes.

The two had grown close over the few months that Shay had been with the Companions. Vilkas had not liked her at first. He tried his best to call her a whelp every chance that he got. There was something about her that put him on edge and made him uncomfortable. She still did in some ways. Shay was beautiful. With her mahogany hair that she always seemed to have up in a messy bun on top of her head. She wore it down tonight he had noticed and he liked it better that way.

As Shay finished she backed away making sure she had gotten most of the caked on blood away from the wound. The candle light made her green eyes shimmer. Gods, Vilkas wanted her so badly. In any other circumstance he would have probably taken her right then and there, but he knew she was in mourning. As was he. "You will need stitches." She said to him. Vilkas said nothing and continued to stare at the Breton. Shay bit her lip, "I should probably go and get Tilma. She is better at this stuff than I am."

Shay's voice quivered as she told Vilkas that she would be right back. She felt stupid as her mind wandered back to when she arrived at Jorrvaskr. She was terrified when she realized that something was wrong. She worried that Vilkas had been hurt or worse, that he was dead. Think this brought tears to her eyes as she cleaned his wound. He had been staring at her so intensely. All she wanted was for him to wrap his arms around her like he had done the moment she found out that Kodlak was dead. She wanted him to embrace her and tell her that he was fine and that she was fine and that everything would be okay as long as they were together. But she knew that the time was not right and that both of them were in pain. Kodlak had been everything to both of them.

Vilkas cringed as the old woman stitched his wound shut. Tilma had arrived shortly after Shay had left him and Shay had still not come back. Maybe she had finally found sleep, he thought to himself. Tilma backed up to examine her handy work. The old woman looked paler than usual, with dark circles around her old wrinkled eyes. Vilkas could only imagine the pain she was feeling. She had known Kodlak for years and now he was gone. He closed his eyes and thought back to when the Harbinger had taken him and Farkas in after Jürgen left and never came back. He thought about the time when Kodlak taught him how to wield a great sword for the first time. He even thought about when he was blessed with Hircine's gift of the beast blood.

All of these memories flooded Vilkas' mind and brought sorrow to his heart. Kodlak was more of a father to him than Jürgen had ever been and now he was gone forever and he felt responsible. He should have done something more to save him. Vilkas remembered the old man speaking of a way to rid the body of Hircine's gift and the Glenmoril Witches were the key.

"Vilkas, dear?" Tilma's soft mother like voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up at her and she was holding up a piece of parchment with his name on it. "Shay wanted me to give this to you, dear." Vilkas took it and looked it over. The note was from Shay.

_Vilkas _

_Kodlak's last wishes were to be rid of the beast that has claimed his spirit. He instructed me to slay the Glenmoril Witches and bring him their heads. That's where I was when the Silver- Hand attacked Jorrvaskr. Kodlak can still be saved. I have left the heads of the wretched creatures in the Under Forge. Take them to Ysgramor's Tomb and throw them into the fire and Kodlak will be free. _

_ Please forgive me Vilkas. The Silver- Hand need to be dealt with. All of them need to die… _

_Shay _

"By the Gods!" Vilkas stood abruptly and grabbed his armor and his sword, completely disregarding the pain in his shoulder. His eyes were blinded by rage and fear. What was she thinking? Is she trying to get herself killed? "Vilkas, what's wrong?" Farkas had woken when he heard Vilkas storming down the hall of the living quarters. "She's gone after them!"

"Who's gone after who?" Farkas said, rubbing the rest of the sleep from his eyes. "Shay has gone, Ice Brain." Aela was awake now too. She stood leaning against the door frame of her room nonchalantly. "You knew she was going and you let her? What were you thinking? She is going to die, and Gods know I can't…"

"Of course I knew. Shay is our best shot of wiping those bastards out for good. So yes, I let her go and you should too."


	2. Driftshade Refuge

Driftshade Refuge

It had only taken Shay a few hours to get to the Silver- Hand's fortress. With any luck none of them had seen her approaching and she could pick them off one by one. She was ready to slaughter them all.

Shay held her bow tightly and pulled an arrow from her quiver to set it in place. One Silver- Hand was stationed on top of the fort while another was standing at the entrance, both looked ready to kill any unwanted visitors. Shay wondered how many werewolves these savages had killed. Though many, she assumed, were rogue wolves, the thought that one of those wolves could have been Vilkas made her heart ache. This was why they all had to die. She would not let another one of her brothers or sisters die at the tip of a silver blade ever again.

Shay aimed for the higher target first. She didn't want to take the chance of the bitch being a good shot. The other stationed by the door looked like he only held a sword so he would be an easy kill. Shay positioned herself so she could get a clear shot. She needed to make sure that her first shot would be the killing blow. There was no room for error. If all of these Silver- Hand bastards were alerted of her presence, she would be found and killed for sure.

Shay took her shot and her silent arrow struck the Silver- Hand between the eyes and she fell from her watch leaving blood spatter on the freshly fallen snow. _YES! _ The other Silver- Hand was now alert and ready for a fight. Shay needed to move quickly or he might warn the others. She positioned herself again and pulled another arrow from her quiver.

_Three…_

_Two…_

_One… _

Her second arrow struck the brute in the chest where it bounced off his armor and fell to the ground. "Shit!" The Silver- Hand looked up from the arrow by his feet and spotted Shay. This was do or die now. She wasn't expecting her cover to be blown so quickly so she had to act fast. Shay sheathed her bow and drew out her sword and dagger. While this Breton was a deadly archress, she was an even deadlier swordsman. Shay emerged from her hiding spot and the brute came charging at her with his great sword drawn and ready to kill. Shay didn't hesitate. She quickly positioned he dagger and threw it at the Silver- Hand, striking him in the leg and making him stagger. This was her chance. She quickly moved forward and struck the Silver- Hand again in the shoulder sending him to his knees. "You… You're one of them, aren't you?" The brute looked Shay in the eyes as blood gushed from his shoulder. His wound looked the way Vilkas' had when she had returned from Glenmoril Coven, only this wound would not be tended to. "Quiet you son of a bitch!" The Silver- Hand cringed as Shay positioned her blade at his abdomen. "Now I am going to make sure that you and all of your friends burn in hell." And with a single thrusting motion the Silver- Hand was dead and bleeding at her feet.

Adrenaline coursed through Shay's veins as she retrieved her dagger from the dead man's leg and cleaned off the blade. This was only the beginning. She didn't know how many of these bastards were held up in the fort and the thought still lingered in the back of her head that she may not make it out of here alive, but she would damn well try.

Shay continued on into the fort. The Silver- Hand now had the advantage. Shay had never been here before so she had to be wary of traps and other things that could possibly give away her position

As she traveled through the twisted corridors Shay could hear voices getting louder. She came out at a landing that looked down to what looked like a dining area. One Silver- Hand was stationed at a door on the opposite side of the room while three more sat around a table, watching as a female Silver- Hand stripped out of her clothes and began to touch herself and moan loudly. Shay watched as one of the men reached up and twisted the woman's nipple while beginning to touch himself through his trousers. _Sick bastards, _Shay thought to herself as she reverted back to her bow.

She aimed for the Silver- Hand stationed by the door knowing too well that the others would be too distracted to notice one of their companions being shot down by an unknown source. The first strike was easy. The Silver- Hand fell just as fast as Shay's arrow had struck his heart, with no sound. Shay's second arrow struck the woman right in the middle of her breasts, sending her toppling over on the man that had been previously touching her. Now Shay had to work fast.

One by one the last three Silver- Hand men fell by Shay's deadly arrows. She wished that she could have been more artistic with her shots and made the bastards suffer, Gods only knew they deserved to suffer, but there was no time.

Shay continued through the fort picking off the Silver- Hand residents one by one. None of them seemed to be aware of her presence yet, but she became even more anxious as she continued on down the long stone hallways.

Her heartbeat was steady and her breathing was soft as she rounded a corner leading to another open room. An Orc Silver- Hand stood by a large fire place with a giant Dwarven Warhammer drawn. "Someone is in the fort and I want to know who!" Shay froze. "It's probably one of those dogs from the Companions." A much smaller Silver- Hand retorted. The Orc swung his hammer over the head of his comrade who ducked to avoid the blow. "None of those savage beasts could get in this damn place with two guards watching the door, idiot! - Wait…" The Orc sniffed the air then looked back at his companion that was still trembling on the ground. The beast grabbed the man's arm with an enormous dark green hands and hoisted him back on his feet, "Maybe you aren't such an idiot after all. One of the mutts are here. I can smell them."

_Oh No. _

"You!" Something grabbed Shay from behind and dragged her back into the stone corridor. "You are the one who has been going around and slaughtering all of my friends, aren't you?" Shay squirmed around trying to free herself from the grasp of her assailant. Something cold and sharp was thrust against her neck, "Answer me dog!"

Shay began to feel her bones break and skin tear. Then… all she saw was red.

Vilkas ran. He had never run so fast in his life. Even with his heavy wolf armor and great sword he ran as if he were wearing nothing. He needed to get to Shay before she made a mistake that would get herself killed. The last time that one of his friends went storming into a Silver- Hand fortress without a Shield- Brother, he had died. Vilkas' heart ached for Skijor, but he knew he couldn't let Shay share the same fate.

As Vilkas approached the fortress he stopped to examine the bodies of the fallen Silver- Hand. _Not Bad. _The Breton had some fire in her. Maybe she was still alive.


End file.
